Shanahan praises Saleh's coaching acumen, believing he earned a second chance with the Titans and will excel in his new role.
The Tennessee Titans have had seven head coaches since 1999.
It all started with Jeff Fisher, who led the franchise to its first Super Bowl in its inaugural NFL season in 1999. Fisher was the head coach until 2011, when Mike Munchak (2011-13) took over.
After Munchak, Ken Whisenhunt (2014-15) took over for two seasons. Mike Mularkey (2016-17) was the head coach for two seasons before Mike Vrabel held down the position from 2018-2023.
Brian Callahan didn't make it two seasons before he was fired halfway through the 2025 campaign.
The Robert Saleh era is getting underway in the Music City, and he attended his first-ever NFL Owners Meetings as the Titans head coach on Monday.
We are under a month away from the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and there are plenty of ideas out there about what the Titans should do with the No. 4 overall pick.
For now, Saleh is taking things one day at a time.
Per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com, the head coach received a stellar endorsement from San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan at the meetings, who wished his former defensive coordinator the best of luck and said he would do a great job in Nashville.
"It looks like he is in a good situation (in Tennessee)," Shanahan said of Saleh. "We hated losing him with the 49ers. But I'm real happy for him and (his wife) Sanaa, and I know he's going to do a hell of a job in Tennessee."
Shanahan went on to explain that he believed Saleh was in a difficult situation with the New York Jets and deserved a second chance at a head coaching opportunity.
"I was real happy for Robert," Shanahan said. "Robert deserves to be a head coach – he is one of the better coaches in this league. I thought he got a raw deal the first time (with the Jets)."
Shanahan is a well-respected head coach in the NFL.
Since he was hired by the 49ers as head coach in 2017, he's taken them to the Super Bowl (2019, 2023) and NFC Championship Game (2021, 2022) twice, and went to the Divisional Round last season.
It seems Saleh has many friends across the league. Besides Shanahan, current Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco was very complimentary of the head coach. Saleh coached Flacco when the two overlapped at the Jets from 2020-22.
Flacco started his career with the Baltimore Ravens in 2008, but has become a journeyman at this point in his NFL tenure. Since his time with the Ravens ended, he's played for the Jets (2020-22), Cleveland Browns (2023, 2025), Indianapolis Colts (2024), and the Bengals (2025-present).
Saleh hasn't coached a game for the Titans yet, but it's clear he has many friends around the league.